I've yet to find a vet within a reasonable distance that is happy with my vaccination decisions, so I settled on one that just respected my decisions and didnt push vaccines or neuters. They didnt even mention Recon's nuts when I went with him other than noting that they could only feel one. I appreciate this. And they handle Frag's issues so well.

I just.... do what I want. lol. They can't force you to vaccinate, so I just do what I want to do and they can have whatever opinion they would like about it (and they will have their opinion!). So it's not something I've ever taken into consideration when looking for a new vet.

My last vet kind of surprised me, they were super not caring that my dog was not vaccinated. Lucy was 5 years old and had never been to the vet since she was 1 - so therefore, she was quite overdue on vaccines. They just said "she's overdue for this and this and this - did you want to update those today?" "No." "Okay." And that was that. Never mentioned again.

As far as where I work, I don't like our vaccine protocol and certainly will not be following it with my own pets. I have to explain our protocol to clients though and basically pretend that I believe it's the best way. Ultimately people can make their own decisions though and tell us "no, I don't want Fluffy to get the distemper vax today". People can make their own minds up about rabies too. We have to explain to them the risks of not vaccinating, but we're not going to inject their pets with things they don't consent to.

Juno will be due for distemper and rabies this summer, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be skipping it all. We stopped giving bordetella a couple years ago when she stopped going to daycare.

I just.... do what I want. lol. They can't force you to vaccinate, so I just do what I want to do and they can have whatever opinion they would like about it (and they will have their opinion!).

This exactly. Vets aren't law enforcement, even with rabies vaccine they're not going to hand you a ticket or anything if you decline. They'll probably explain to you why they recommend what they do, but at the end of the day it's your decision, not theirs.

If it's important to you to find a vet who shares your philosophy about vaccines, then I would just call or email all the vets in your area prior to making any appointments.

I didn't ask them anything. I just told them that this was the protocal I would be following for my dogs, and gave them the records. They were very nice about it, and always ask when I make the appointments if I want to schedule something or speak to the vet first.

I'm also in an area very well known for a high hippy population, so holistic minded vets are very common here.

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Booty Dancing In Heaven 10/13/03-9/15/12As much as I try to be one of those easygoing 'spread your wings and fly' types, I just can't stop trying to burst people into flames with my mind.

I started with 3 veterinarian who had excellent reputations with the BBB and word of mouth. I scheduled a 15 minute meet and greet appointment for mid week, aim to be the first appointment of the day. Flat out tell the dr., first thing, that you are an informed pet owner who follows X protocol with your animals. Ask if that is going to be an issue if you.choose to use their services. If the answer is yes, thank the dr. And leave. I never vaccinate adult dogs for anything. I do puppy series, a booster at 18 months and a final at 3 years. There is no need to bring your dog to the initial meeting. Simply let the receptionist know you are interviewing for a new veterinarian. There should be no charge for thi meeting, but make a list of questions to be sure the dr fits your other needs after the limited vaccine question is answered.

Look up local pet stores that specialize in raw pet foods, or other companies that do (boarding kennels, training places) that. Or raw feeding groups in the area on yahoo groups etc...

Those people would be able to tell you which vets to contact.

My trainer gave me a great recommendation. Don't know why I didn't think of that before!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoparStar

I started with 3 veterinarian who had excellent reputations with the BBB and word of mouth. I scheduled a 15 minute meet and greet appointment for mid week, aim to be the first appointment of the day. Flat out tell the dr., first thing, that you are an informed pet owner who follows X protocol with your animals. Ask if that is going to be an issue if you.choose to use their services. If the answer is yes, thank the dr. And leave. I never vaccinate adult dogs for anything. I do puppy series, a booster at 18 months and a final at 3 years. There is no need to bring your dog to the initial meeting. Simply let the receptionist know you are interviewing for a new veterinarian. There should be no charge for thi meeting, but make a list of questions to be sure the dr fits your other needs after the limited vaccine question is answered.